The 2023 Oscars are setting up for a dramatic finish.
Seemingly everyone, everywhere is talking about the breakout indie darling “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” but it will need to beat big-budget blockbusters and acclaimed films by Steven Spielberg and Martin McDonagh to claim top prizes at Sunday’s ceremony.
Here’s everything you need to know before the Academy Awards at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.
How to watch
Sunday’s ceremony kicks off at 8 p.m. ET and will air live on ABC. Subscription streaming services including FuboTV, YouTubeTV and Hulu Live TV are carrying the awards show as well.
ABC will also air pre-ceremony coverage throughout the day, starting with “On the Red Carpet Live” from 1-4 p.m. and followed by a “Countdown to the Oscars” special beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Who is hosting?
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel returns for his third Oscars hosting gig and first since 2018. He famously emceed the 2017 ceremony where Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty mistakenly announced “La La Land” for best picture instead of the actual winner, “Moonlight.”
Kimmel jokingly shared his plan should an incident occur like Will Smith slapping Chris Rock last year.
“You mean, if somebody comes up on the stage and slaps me? Well, I size them up, and, if I’m bigger than they are, I beat the s— out of them on television,” Kimmel told The Hollywood Reporter. “And if it’s the Rock, I run.”
Who is nominated?
“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the genre-defying, multiverse-jumping hit that’s dominated awards season so far, leads all films with 11 nominations.
It enters as the favorite for best picture following wins at multiple Oscars bellwethers, including last month’s Screen Actors Guild Awards. However, the film faces competition from Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical “The Fabelmans”; McDonaugh’s dark comedy “The Banshees of Inisherin”; James Cameron’s titanic splash “Avatar: The Way of Water”; and the visually stunning, Tom Cruise-led “Top Gun: Maverick.”
“Everything Everywhere” star Michelle Yeoh is nominated for best actress, as is “Tár” star Cate Blanchett. Brendan Fraser’s portrayal of a severely obese man in “The Whale” and Austin Butler’s performance as the title music icon in “Elvis” have them in the mix for best actor.
The heavy favorite for best supporting actor is “Everything Everywhere” star Ke Huy Quan, who already won honors at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards and Film Independent Spirit Awards.
Spielberg, McDonaugh and the “Everything Everywhere” duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert are among the best director nominees.
Who is performing?
Fresh off her Super Bowl halftime show last month, Rihanna returns to a national stage to perform “Lift Me Up,” her hit from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which is nominated for best original song.
“Everything Everywhere” star Stephanie Hsu will take the stage with David Byrne and the band Son Lux for their Oscar-nominated “This is a Life,” which was written for the movie.
Lenny Kravitz will perform during the in memoriam segment.
Who can make history?
Yeoh could achieve multiple milestones, including becoming the first Malaysian artist to win an Oscar and the first Southeast Asian to be named best actress, according to the ActionNetwork.com.
Quan would be the first Oscar-winning actor born in Vietnam, while Hsu would be the first actress of Chinese descent to take home an Oscar if she’s named best supporting actress.
Spielberg would become the fourth filmmaker to win a third best director trophy, and at 76 would be the oldest to receive the honor.
Angela Bassett, who is up for best supporting actress for “Wakanda Forever,” could become the first person to win for a performance in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and the first woman to win for a comic book film.
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